


cruel

by yaochis



Category: NINE PERCENT (Band), 乐华七子NEXT | NEX7, 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)
Genre: 1900s, Alternate Universe, Arranged Marriage, Forced Marriage, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Light Angst, M/M, Mental Instability, a small implied chen linong/bi wenjun, based off the little nyonya episode 30, huh i'm sorry i guess, meiqi is xikan's aunt, mentally unstable!zhengting, wenjun doesn't have feelings for xikan at all, xikan is the older sibling in this case, zhengting and xikan are siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-22 01:03:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16587767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yaochis/pseuds/yaochis
Summary: wenjun finds out what happened to zhengting.





	cruel

**Author's Note:**

> do forgive me, it's my first time again writing something like that. most of the work are directly taken from the show, you can watch it on toggle if you would like to. just search for the little nyonya episode 30. sorry to zhengkun shippers?????

when zhengting comes to consciousness again, the first thing he realises is the state he is in. there is only a blanket shielding his unclothed figure, and from the mirror opposite him, he can see his lipstick smeared all over the place. of course, his head is hurting and everything is a whole mess. 

he sits up, sticking himself to the headboard as a caucasian man walks in, hands busy fixing his tie. zhengting only pulls the sheets up further, trying his best to cover his figure. at this point of time, fear had already settled deep inside of him and all he wished for was the man to disappear and never be seen in front of him ever again. he is visibly shaking, tears welling in his eyes, all of his feelings evident from his expression.

"don't give me this kind of expression," the caucasian man simply says. he is not shouting or barking at zhengting like xukun does, just merely stating something. "you think you're the only one paying the price. i've got to pay a price too. mister cai and his son would never engage in a losing proposition. how much are they paying you? someone like you would give up anything for money."

his hands only grab the sheets even further as the man bids him goodbye and exits the room, leaving him all alone. he only lets himself cry out freely, wails filling up the empty room. 

* * *

 

"mister cai," his assistant says as he walks over but xukun does not respond nor look at him. "mister zhu is back. mister smith is extremely pleased. he'd like you to go to the club this afternoon to await good news."

his lips only curl up into a small smirk and he signals for his assistant to return, watching the other man bow his head and leave. shortly after, xukun makes his way to the foyer, settling the empty wine glass down on the grand piano on the way. the man stops in his tracks for a split second upon seeing a figure leaning against the wall, right beside the stairs, shoes messily sitting near the person's feet.

xukun walks up to the figure, towering over the other person, "what are you doing here?"

the person only remains silent, one hand grabbing onto the collar of his own shirt, eyes staring lifelessly into space. his hair is all over the place, his lipstick all smeared and overall, the person just looks like a mess. seeing that zhengting does not respond, xukun only inhales sharply before speaking.

"go back to your room," xukun says, but zhengting continues staring into empty space, ignoring his words. "i said to go back to your room, do you not hear me?"

only then zhengting starts showing signs of responding, but he does not obediently follow xukun's instructions and gets up on both his feet like he did not get taken advantage of just now. the only things that come out of his mouth are silly little laughs, that get bigger and bigger as he continues. laughs that a mentally unsound person would let out. 

the other man bends down and grabs his face roughly with one hand, looking straight into zhengting's eyes, his angered expression plastered on his face. "what are you laughing at? are you crazy? what are you laughing at?"

"you're shameless, you'll get your retribution." zhengting answers, looking at him straight in the eyes. his eyes widen as he goes on, "believe me. you'll go to hell. get ready for it."

zhengting only laughs after his words and xukun throws him to the ground upon hearing it, shouting at him, "retribution? that's right, this is your retribution! your family laid the same trap and lured me into it. i'm just paying you back in your own coin. isn't sleeping with men your forte, huh?"

the ruined one turns his head to look at xukun, lips curling up into a smile, "yes. i like sleeping with men. you see to it. see who wants to sleep with me. there's no need to make me drunk or dope my drink." 

his hand comes up to pull a part of his shirt off, bare shoulder being flashed. zhengting only continues, "go, get going. hurry up."

"sure!" xukun says, standing up. "you're showing your true colours at last. i was right about you. you're a shameless prostitute through and through!"

"yes," zhengting sits up, looking at xukun. "i'm a prostitute, and you're a pimp. hurry get me men."

zhengting latches onto xukun's arms, blindly searching for somewhere to tug on, laughing like a mentally unsound person. xukun narrows his eyes at his husband's actions, pushing the latter's hands away from himself, "what do you want? let go!"

"let go! get lost, you crazy person!" the businessman shouts as he pushes zhengting away, letting the other fall back to the ground. he walks up the stairs, straightening his clothes, not sparing the other male another glance at all. there are cries of wanting men from behind him, but xukun only continues walking up, until he disappears.

and zhengting only tries his best to get to xukun again, to have the latter find him men to sleep with, but he only falls back down and slumps against the wooden railing, all broken.

* * *

 

back in the big house, at the table sits wenjun, xikan, meiyu and their great grandmother. xikan receives the bowl of dessert from the maid, turning to his great grandmother, "have some dessert, chor chor.*"

"the weather is hot recently. young master has cooked barley with beancurd stick for everyone." the maid explains.

xikan only flashes a small smile and gives a bowl to meiqi, then walking over to wenjun and settling the bowl down in front of him. wenjun only thanks him, getting a "don't mention it" back from xikan.

"ma ma*, jun-er seems as if he is still not used to being waited on by xikan. he actually thanked his own husband." meiqi makes a remark, laughing slightly. 

"this is what you all don't understand," the old lady says, looking over at wenjun. "people who have western education talk about  _gentlemanliness_. it means showing respect."

"ma ma, you're so knowledgeable."

"of course, i learnt it all from jun-er."

wenjun only flashes a smile at the old lady, speaking, "chor chor is a good student. you remember everything that i teach. i'll give you a hundred marks, chor chor."

they all laugh and wenjun just flashes his small smile again. meiqi puts down her spoon and looks at the male opposite her, "you buried yourself in work as soon as you were discharged. ma ma, i already told ge* that he should give jun-er two days off since he just got married."

"how is two days enough? go tell jun-er's father that he needs at least eight to ten days."

"no, chor chor." wenjun speaks up, going against her idea. "there's a lot of work to do since we just got the bank licence."

"forgive me for being nosey, young master, but nothing is more important than bearing children." the maid expresses her thoughts, siding with meiqi.

meiqi nods, showing her agreement towards what the maid said. "precisely, wenjun. you should pick an auspicious date to consummate your marriage."

"look at how impatient your aunt is." the old lady states, laughing.

"i can't help it, ma ma. i've been feeling bad for not being able to bear any children for the family. how i wish that xikan could give us a chubby baby right away!"

xikan only smiles shyly at his aunt's words, cheeks almost blushing. the old lady laughs and looks over at wenjun, probably about to say something but wenjun stops her, changing the topic of consummating his marriage to books, offering to read it to her. but the old lady only tells him that there is no hurry, that him and xikan hardly have time together, and she  _does not want to play gooseberry._

wenjun does not reply but only looks down.

* * *

 

in front of him lays many books concerning his work, but all wenjun can think of is zhengting. what has happened to the other boy, and how is he doing right now? was his marriage to cai xukun really arranged or did he marry the other to his own accord? in wenjun's mind, only words linong told him when they met in the hospital appears.

_"xukun is a rogue," linong says, tears almost welling up in his eyes. he looks away from wenjun, not being able to look at him in the eye. "no matter how unwilling zhengting was, he still married him.."_

_wenjun leans forward, heart filled with nothing but confusion. did zhengting not agree to marrying xukun?_

_"didn't he marry xukun of his own accord?"_

_linong turns his head back and looks at wenjun in the eyes, almost about to cry. "of his own accord? why in the world would he want to marry that scumbag?"_

_what wenjun hears in linong's voice and sees in the other's eyes is nothing but pain, anger and sadness. the way linong speaks about zhengting's marriage with xukun makes it sounds like the latter is suffering from being with the business man. linong's voice trembles ever so slightly when he explains, tears threatening to escape._

"wenjun," a familiar voice calls his name and wenjun's train of thoughts is broken. he looks up to see xikan beside him, smiling. "what are you thinking of? you looked so engrossed. you didn't even know i'd come in."

he lets himself tell a lie to his husband, "something concerning work."

the shorter male sits down on the chair near him, smiling. "leave work to uncle and dad. you don't have to worry about it. why not give yourself a break as chor chor suggested? aunt meiqi had told me madam ma had calculated, and she said it's an auspicious day today, and they'd like us to.. have a good rest."

wenjun exactly understands what xikan means. he knows how much the family wants them to hurry consummate their marriage and give them all another child, but wenjun does not have the mood nor patience for that. all he wants to do is find out everything behind zhengting's and xukun's marriage and solve the mystery. he wants to fully understand what linong had told him at the hospital and whether zhengting was really forced to married xukun. so, he changes the topic.

"xikan," wenjun says and inhales sharply before continuing, "have you seen your di* since he got married? have you two met since he got married?"

xikan only becomes silent for a split second before shaking his head, "no. aunt meiqi said that we didn't have much dealing with the cai family, and chor chor isn't quite.. that's why we don't keep in touch."

"i know chor chor isn't pleased with zhengting. but you're brothers after all. blood is thicker than water, it's only natural that you stay in touch. how about this, why don't you ask her out for a get-together?"

xikan only forces a smile and nods his head.

* * *

 

meiqi pushes a frowning xikan into the area, sighing, "aren't you useless! instead of getting him to consummate your marriage, he asked about zhengting."

"aunt, i already dolled myself up, but he didn't even bother to take a good look at me! yet all he talked about was zhengting! he even wanted me to ask zhengting out!" xikan whines, pointing to his outfit choice.

xikan shouts how infuriating it is and walks over to somewhere else, resting his hand on a chair, still full of anger from just now.

"can he possibly meet him?" meiqi asks a rhetorical question, following xikan. "i heard from your mother that there was no news of zhengting after marrying cai xukun married her. he didn't even go home on the twelfth day, which made your mother worried. so she got your father to call up and check it out, yet your father only said zhengting is like splashed water, because he's already married to someone else. so your mother got impatient and called up the cai family herself, but in the end, she didn't even get to speak to zhengting."

xikan takes a while to assimilate his aunt's words before his eyes widen and he turns around to tug on the older's arms, "aunt, i suddenly recalled something!"

"what is it?"

"do you think wenjun.." xikan says, voice full of anxiety and worry. neither of them seem to take note of wenjun coming down from the bedroom or his footsteps. "..has found out zhengting was raped by cai xukun?"

upon hearing xikan's words, wenjun's eyes widen and he hides behind a pillar, not wanting anyone to know his presence. he continues listening to the two, heartbeat increasing at each word.

"only a few people in our family know about this. and it was a disgrace. nobody would go round talking about it." 

wenjun only runs out of the house, all the way to where he met zhengting last time, right in front of the waters.

_"no matter what happens, you'll never leave him?" zhengting asks._

_"yes."  
_

_zhengting nods and gives him a simple small smile, "alright. i'll think of a way to let linong go so that you can take him away with you."  
_

and then linong's words appear in his mind again, connecting almost everything together. 

_"if zhengting is in trouble, make sure you help her."_

he only looks at the waters, tears in his eyes.

_linong, rest assured i'll help zhengting._

* * *

 

the maid is blocked as the head of maids appear in front of her, looking down at the untouched food. 

"he's not eating again?"

"he didn't touch it all, so i decided to keep it."

"you should've asked him to eat! he hasn't eaten for two days! if he dies of hunger, we'll be blamed!"

"i did ask him to eat, but he just wouldn't answer me!"

the older maid inhales sharply and walks over to the figure under the sheets, hand going to pat the other, "young master, it's time to eat!"

she pulls the sheet to only be faced with zhengting, eyes wide open and a smile etched on his face, dried blood on the latter's cheeks and wounds decorating the pretty face. the maids scream at the sight, stepping back in fear. zhengting only sits up, tilting his head and looking at them, asking, "am i pretty...?"

seeing that the two females do not respond to his question but only wail quietly in fear, he reaches forward and manages to catch the younger maid, latching onto her arm, laughing crazily and repeating his question, resulting the maid screaming for help while trying to escape. zhengting gets up on his feet and chases the innocent servant, pressing her up against the wall, holding her two wrists tightly and laughing, repeating his question over and over again. despite the number of  _yes_ the maid says to him, he continues, scaring the female.

"young master!" the older maid shouts as she runs down the stairs to the living room where xukun is sitting comfortably on the chair, on the phone with someone. xukun only holds a hand up, signalling for her to wait as he replies to the person on the other side of the phone, slightly smiling. he returns to a frown as he puts the phone back in place.

"young master.."

"couldn't you see that i was on the phone?!" he shouts at the frightened maid.

"h-he.."

"what about him? is he dead? so be it! don't need to kick up a fuss!"

"he looks so gruesome, young master. it's as if he.. he.."

"what is it?!" xukun shouts, his patience wearing thin.

"it's as if he were possessed!"

at the moment, the other maid comes running down the stairs, screaming for help and she latches on to the older maid in fear. xukun only takes a deep breath before standing up from his seat, looking over at zhengting who had just came down from upstairs, all laughing again like the other time, the words  _do you want to sleep with me_ coming out from his mouth. 

zhengting suddenly starts advancing towards him and he wraps his arms around xukun, in which the latter tries to get away but zhengting manages to trip him, resulting in the former being on top of xukun, hands grabbing tightly onto the businessman's shoulder, asking him for men and trying to kiss him. xukun only shouts at him to get away and calls him crazy, one hand trying to push zhengting away and another on his chin to stop the male from kissing him. 

"get her away!" xukun shouts at the maids but they are not quick enough. zhengting bites down on his hand, causing the male below him to let out a pained scream. with all the energy he has, xukun pushes zhengting away, letting the other stay on the floor and laugh like a maniac. xukun stands up and shouts at the person on the floor, "you crazy man! put him in a mental hospital!"

  
zhengting only points a finger at him, still laughing.

* * *

 

"is mister zhu zhengting in this ward?" wenjun asks as he approaches the man sitting in the corridor of the hospital.

"who are you?"

"i'm a friend of him. i'm here to visit him."

"sorry. he doesn't want any visitors."

wenjun only takes out a few notes from his pocket and puts it into the man's breast pocket, in which the man nods and tells him to make it quick. wenjun walks into the ward, heart aching painfully as he sees a tied up zhengting on the bed, laughing and staring into space. the taller approaches the patient, taking note of the wounds and all the scars on the latter's figure. zhengting only then stops laughing and mutters the words  _get me men_ slowly, not noticing wenjun's presence until he turns around.

by this time, tears had already flowed down from wenjun's eyes. in front of him was a completely different person, not the boy who was kind and helpful despite his family being selfish and manipulative. zhengting did not look like the person who told him he will help linong escape, the person he met before zhengting helped linong escape and got himself into the situation with xukun. zhengting only stares at him, words all slow as he asks wenjun if he is mister smith who had taken advantage of him. 

wenjun lets himself cry as he listens to zhengting, trying to understand the state zhengting was in. it hurts to see someone so amiable and good natured turn into a different person who has no control of himself anymore. he kneels down beside zhengting, watching the other laugh like a silly person.

"zhengting, i'm wenjun."

"wenjun..? why are you.. crying..? don't.. cry.."

his heart only hurts more at the other's words, and he swallows, "zhengting. i won't let cai xukun treat you like this. i'll get you out for sure."

upon finishing his words, wenjun stands up and starts untying the knots, and zhengting reacts immediately. the patient's screams and shouts of  _don't touch me_ fill up the room and wenjun only continues, set on helping zhengting. zhengting only keeps screaming for help, and wenjun forces himself to stop, hands still on the cloth as he looks over at the mentally unsound person. 

he leans down and holds the other person, trying to calm zhengting down. but zhengting only keeps trying to get out of his grip, still screaming. 

"help, ge*...! xukun is going to rape me..!" zhengting screams as the memories play in his head again and wenjun only looks at him, still holding him, he himself shaking at what zhengting just screamed out. the other only continues screaming for xikan to save him and not to walk out on him, stuck in the hurtful past.

* * *

 

wenjun stares at the ground, recalling about what happened back in the hospital just now. he is still appalled at what zhengting had screamed out, how afraid the person was of everything now and how much he had changed. a hand lands on his shoulder gently and he looks up to see xikan smiling at him.

"you're on a holiday yet you're still so busy," xikan says, in a cheerful mood, completely opposite from what wenjun is feeling. "chor chor is concerned. she'd like us to spend a few days at the villa by the beach."

wenjun does not respond and only looks at xikan, thinking about how zhengting screamed for his husband's name just now, and the words  _ge, don't walk out on me_. xikan tilts his head and asks him what is the matter, stating how the expression in his eyes looks strange.

"i saw zhengting just now."

"really? i called him, but every time, i was told he wasn't around or was busy. i didn't get to talk to him at all. where did you run into him anyway?"

"i met him outside."

"oh.. so how was he doing?" xikan asks, not meeting wenjun's eyes.

"i told him you missed him very much, and we'd all meet someday. but she said something to me. he said, you were no brother of his."

xikan frowns and crosses his arms, "well, i don't want him for a brother either!"

the taller male only stands up, and says harshly, "you're too much."

xikan stands up too, wanting to explode but he keeps his cool, and asks, "what have i done?"

"you saw cai xukun raping him, but you didn't lift a finger to help!"

"he was spouting nonsense!" xikan's eyes widen in anxiety and he walks to the vanity mirror, hands in fists, trying to calm himself down.

"was that so? even so, surely it's a fact he was raped by cai xukun!"

"he had himself to blame for letting that bastard child go! that was why cai xukun mistook him for that bastard child! he brought it up himself!" xikan shouts, insulting linong. 

wenjun's eyes widens as xikan starts to reveal everything, "it was linong that cai xukun was going to rape initially?"

"yes, it was none other than that bastard child!"

"don't you call him that!" wenjun says at the insulting name given to linong and xikan only frowns further, asking him if it breaks his heart to hear linong being called a bastard child. xikan knows how wenjun has feelings for linong and he shouts at wenjun, asking him if he still has feelings for the other boy.

"i'm talking about zhengting now!"

"save it! that bastard child was the one who brought it upon him! he was supposed to marry lin yanjun the following day, and zhengting had to let him go! had zhengting not helped that bastard child, nothing would've happened!"

wenjun looks at the shorter in disappointment, shaking his head ever so slightly. "you saw everything, yet you didn't stop cai xukun.. or go to your brother's rescue."

"i was terrified and scared at that time! i didn't know what was going on!" xikan defends himself, hoping that wenjun would understand him. "I know, zhengting must've hated me for taking you away from him, that was why he said those words to you and put all the blame on me! wasn't he wicked! serves him right he was raped by cai xukun!"

"you had the cheek to say all that. he's your brother!"

"well, he said i was no brother of his!"

"he said nothing of the sort! when he was in a delirium, he was still screaming,  _ge, save me! ge, save me!_ "

confusion appears in xikan's eyes and he mutters, "but you said.. you tricked me into telling everything!"

"that's right!"

"how could you do this!" the shorter screams at the betrayal, tears forming in his eyes.

"i'd never have found out the truth otherwise! zhengting is lying in the hospital, no, he's tied up in the hospital! he's already mentally unsound, and he's covered in wounds! i didn't see him for only a period of time, and he was a changed person! i couldn't even recognise him!" wenjun shouts, explaining the scene he faced back in the hospital. 

xikan's eyes wet at the words that come out of wenjun's mouth and he tries to defend himself again, "what has that got to do with me? i didn't want it to happen!"

"you're appalling," wenjun says, full of dismay and outrage, showing his disapproval at xikan's actions and thoughts. "you just looked on as your brother was being violated! utterly cruel."

and wenjun walks out, going down the stairs at a fast speed with xikan chasing behind him, trying to explain that he said everything out of pique but wenjun does not stop to even say anything.

too cruel. 

**Author's Note:**

> *chor chor: great grandmother  
> *ma ma: grandmother  
> *ge: older brother  
> *di: younger brother
> 
> their roles:  
> zhengting - huang yuzhu  
> xukun - robert zhang  
> wenjun - chen xi  
> xikan - huang zhenzhu  
> linong - yamamoto yueniang  
> meiqi - huang meiyu
> 
> the endings of each character (according to the show)  
> yuzhu (zhengting): ends up in a mental institution after giving birth to her and robert's son   
> robert (xukun): killed by huang tianbao   
> chen xi (wenjun): marries libby and has six children  
> zhenzhu (xikan): her marriage with chen xi doesn't get better and she elopes with another man  
> yueniang (linong): marries another man 
> 
> thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed it! do leave comments or requests (any pairings)!  
> sorry for writing this so badly


End file.
